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The Dallas Mavericks started the month of March hosting the Oklahoma City Thunder. Still without Cooper Flagg as they closed out their homestand, Dallas fell 100-87 to the league’s best team.
Let’s get to the grades!
Brandon Williams: B
14 PTS / 3 REB / 3 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 24 MIN
Williams wasn’t exactly hot on 5-for-12 shooting, but did some nice things to drive and break down the defense a bit (though some of his misses were point blank). He put up a generally solid game against a very good team.
Max Christie: B
14 PTS / 7 REB / 0 AST / 2 STL / 0 BLK – 35 MIN
Christie quietly had himself a good night. He knocked in five of his 11 shots including going 4-for-8 from deep. He turned it over twice relative to zero assists, but did have two steals and did some of the little things you like to see. He didn’t get to the line at all, and it would be nice to see him driving a bit more to earn those free throws. He has been at his best this season when not exclusively camping out on the perimeter.
Caleb Martin: B+
18 PTS / 3 REB / 0 AST / 1 STL / 0 BLK – 31 MIN
Martin was Dallas’ shining star, which should tell you all you need to know. That’s not intended to be a dig, as he did have himself a nice game, however Martin as your leading scorer is indicative of an odd night indeed. He was 6-for-11including a hot 3-for-5 from downtown. Oddly, his 3-for-6 on free throws were the worst aspect of his shooting.
Khris Middleton: D
4 PTS / 2 REB / 3 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 25 MIN
Middleton is significantly better than what he showed tonight. This is a “toss it away and start fresh” type of game. He was 2-for-10 shooting overall including 0-for-3 from deep and somehow committed five fouls.
Daniel Gafford: C
8 PTS / 7 REB / 2 AST / 1 STL / 0 BLK – 22 MIN
It’s coming to a point where maybe I have to accept what was heretofore unacceptable to me – that Gafford is not a natural rebounder. However, in exactly six more minutes, Gafford pulled in five fewer rebounds than Moussa Cisse, his backup. Shooting only 3-for-9 from the floor didn’t help things. Gafford is too big and too athletic to not be doing more with the opportunities he has.
Klay Thompson: N/A
7 PTS / 0 REB / 1 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 15 MIN
Thompson doesn’t qualify for a grade in only 15 minutes of play, though his shooting was likely trending toward lower marks as he was 3-for-8 from the floor and 1-for-5 from deep. The real story for Thompson tonight was an adductor contusion that caused him to check out and not return. Time will tell how long he will remain sidelined.
Moussa Cisse: B
0 PTS / 12 REB / 0 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 21 MIN
Cisse was a rebound machine, grabbing nine in his first nine minutes of play and ending with 12 total. In one of the most bizarre stat lines you will ever see, Cisse did one thing spectacularly well, while doing nothing else. He turned it over twice while committing a single foul and was impossibly only one of two players with a plus/minus in the black, joining Ryan Nembhard with a plus-1.
Final Thoughts
The Mavs faired much better than could reasonably have been expected against OKC, but that was largely because the Thunder played with their food rather than stepping on the gas. At any moment, the Mavs could have, and did, roll out a lineup nearly exclusively of two-way or former two-way players against the team with the best record in the league. As always, Dallas played hard, but it was ultimately for naught against a much healthier and much more seasoned and experienced defending-champion team.
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